Mood on India subdued
World forum sees it bouncing back
THE five-day World Economic Forum summit which ended in Davos on Monday saw the India growth story looking slightly ragged at the edges. Yet, there were many votaries of it and though the mood was tepid as compared to the recent past, there was hope that India would bounce back as an important investment and trade destination.

Tainted contestants
To parties, victory is all that mattersDespite
much hue and cry being raised through the media and other forums for keeping politics free from criminals, political parties are behaving predictably. They are just not bothered about fielding candidates with a clean image. A person who has the capacity to ensure his/her victory is preferred over the one whose chances of defeating his/her rivals are doubtful, even if that person has a clean past.

Abroad, uncared for
Children need parents, protectionTHE recent case of Indian children being put in foster care in Norway, purportedly because they were being abused, has put the spotlight on a clash of cultures more than anything else. The three-year-old Abhigyan and his six-month-old sister, Aishwarya, have unwittingly become the centre of the storm that was not of their own making, as they face the trauma of being separated from their parents and lodged in strange surroundings.

Don’t bring down the treeTake to the middle path of consensus
by B.G. VergheseRepublic
Day was celebrated this year in the presence of the Thai Prime Minister who is young enough to make many of our vaunted “youth leaders” look old. There is a message here that must be noted. Timely words were otherwise spoken by the President in her broadcast to the nation. We must be cautious, she remarked, “that while shaking the tree to remove the bad fruit, we do not bring down the tree itself”.

Mom, dad — who?
by Rajbir Deswal
I think it’s time to re-visit Gurudev
Tagore, who should be turning wherever he is at the denial of ‘holding a head high and having a mind without fear’ in relation to a couple living in Norway. The apples of their eye have been taken away by the Norwegian childcare authority,
Barnevarne, for an alleged ‘parental disconnect.’

The crimes of prejudice
The state machinery in Haryana may like to term honour crimes as a social issue, women groups are now demanding amendments in the existing laws to deal with such crime
Akhila SinghTHERE cannot be an alternative to mass mobilisation for legislation as important as “honour” crime, which has been put in cold storage even before a real debate could ensue. More than a year has passed since the Central Government constituted a Group of Ministers (
GoM) to look into the legal amendments, or, drafting of special legislation to deal with “honour” crimes, yet no understanding has been arrived at on such a serious issue.

THE five-day World Economic Forum summit which ended in Davos on Monday saw the India growth story looking slightly ragged at the edges. Yet, there were many votaries of it and though the mood was tepid as compared to the recent past, there was hope that India would bounce back as an important investment and trade destination. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ latest global CEO survey, released at Davos, India dropped to the fourth place, behind China, the United States and Brazil as the country that 1,258 chief executives across the world felt was most important for their overall growth prospects. Confidence among Indian CEOs about their own prospects in the next year was at 55%, down from a staggering 88% last year, according to the survey. Union Commerce Minister Anand Sharma sought to brush aside the concerns on slow reforms by suggesting that the foreign direct investment decision on retail sector reforms was only on a pause and did not amount to a reversal but that he went out of his way to address the ‘policy paralysis’ was an index that there was a lurking disappointment about this aspect that policy-makers in New Delhi were taking note of.

Happily for India, there was general recognition that the Indian financial system was very robust and that the banks were doing well, a fallout of the disillusionment with American banks in the wake of the economic slowdown there. What came for wholesome praise was India’s strong regulatory mechanism, which, before the US banking failure, was seen as too restrictive and retrograde. Overall, while the concerns about the European economies was growing, there was general confidence that the Indian troubles would fade away if there were tangible corrective measures. There was one indicator, however, on which both India and China were found woefully lacking and that was in terms of tackling pollution and natural resource management challenges on which India ranked 125th and China 116th in a survey of 132 countries undertaken by Yale and Colombia universities in association with the World Economic Forum. But this was seen as reflecting the strain rapid economic growth imposes on the environment.

All in all, Davos this time was a reminder that India needed to pull up its socks. The virtual euphoria over its growth story was missing but the underlying sentiment was of hope.

Despite
much hue and cry being raised through the media and other forums for keeping politics free from criminals, political parties are behaving predictably. They are just not bothered about fielding candidates with a clean image. A person who has the capacity to ensure his/her victory is preferred over the one whose chances of defeating his/her rivals are doubtful, even if that person has a clean past. Tainted candidates figure in the list of the nominees of almost every party at least in UP where the first phase of the seven-phase elections will be over soon. And UP remains politically the most significant state of the country. It has the largest Assembly and sends the maximum number of representatives — 80 MPs — to the Lok Sabha.

It is indeed very alarming when one looks at the number of those in the election fray having criminal cases pending against them —- 38 per cent. This shows an increase of 10 per cent if we compare the figure with that in the 2007 polls. Looking at the figure of such candidates party-wise, the Samajwadi Party tops the list — 51 per cent — with the BSP being second and the Congress at the third position. The situation may be better in other states, but UP provides an insight into the minds of the managers of our political parties. The point that needs to be highlighted is that all the major political players are guilty of providing a chance to the people with a questionable past to enter our legislatures. They all are to blame — some less, some more.

How their nominations were cleared by the Election Commission is a question to be studied. Perhaps, these tainted candidates fulfilled the conditions fixed for contesting the elections. There is need to review the requirement and amend the law accordingly. Now it is the turn of the people. If voters reject shady characters, this may work as a deterrent for political parties. Voter awareness can give a new meaning to the winning factor.

THE recent case of Indian children being put in foster care in Norway, purportedly because they were being abused, has put the spotlight on a clash of cultures more than anything else. The three-year-old Abhigyan and his six-month-old sister, Aishwarya, have unwittingly become the centre of the storm that was not of their own making, as they face the trauma of being separated from their parents and lodged in strange surroundings.

While child abuse cannot be condoned, it also stands to reason that people of Indian origin must follow local laws when they live abroad. However, this particular case has generated interest because of the kind of charges that have been levelled against the parents. Norwegian social workers noted that the three-year-old child slept on the same bed as his father, something that hundreds of thousands of children do in the subcontinent. They also found that the mother fed the children with her fingers, and that she looked ‘tired’ and ‘impatient’. None of these actions, it can be argued, deserved the kind of action that has been meted out, one that has traumatised the children, as they have to bear with separation from their parents.

While the rights for the protection of children are inalienable, the acknowledgement of such rights has come in only lately. Once these are recognised, implementation rests with various governments, and thus varies widely. While there are basic commonalities in child rearing, there is also a tremendous variation in the way parents bring up their children. It is, therefore, important to recognise this diversity even as governments move to protect the young ones from abuse. This case has shown that while employers and the Indian government must make the expatriate workers aware of the legal and cultural requirements of the place they work in, foreign government agencies need to demonstrate more sensitivity towards the immigrant families and their cultural practices.

Don’t bring down the treeTake to the middle path of consensus
by B.G. Verghese

Republic
Day was celebrated this year in the presence of the Thai Prime Minister who is young enough to make many of our vaunted “youth leaders” look old. There is a message here that must be noted. Timely words were otherwise spoken by the President in her broadcast to the nation. We must be cautious, she remarked, “that while shaking the tree to remove the bad fruit, we do not bring down the tree itself”. The reference was not merely to the somewhat anarchist tendencies unleashed by the Lokpal matter but to a wider tendency impatiently to throw out the baby with the bathwater by adopting extreme positions on a variety of reforms and current issues.

Negativism, to which many are addicted out of frustration, must not lead to rejection and violence that question or weaken the democratic edifice of the nation – a priceless asset. In a country of such vast diversity and varied levels and trajectories of development, extreme views should yield to the middle path of consensus, eschewing both status-quoism and revolution.

In two more cases of cultural bigotry, a Pune university was forced to withdraw screening of an allegedly “separatist” Sanjay Kak film on Kashmir by ABVP rowdies while Shiv Sena goons vandalised The Times of India office in Mumbai for an innocuous report that a Sena politician might defect. The Jaipur LitFest, an otherwise great success, was marred by the Rushdie controversy. Conservative elements were once again allowed to swamp liberal opinion. “The Satanic Verses” has long been banned in India but not the person of its author. Nobody stopped his going to Jaipur but tensions had built up and official advice to the LitFest organisers of a possible attempt on his life by hired hit-men caused him not merely to call off the visit but also to abandon the idea of speaking via a video-link from London.

The Central and Rajasthan governments were gratuitously blamed not only for “failing” to guarantee Rushdie protection but also for floating a canard to scare him away while wooing Muslim votes in the ensuing state elections.This seems a kneejerk reaction. Had the authorities kept quiet and something untoward had happened, none would have spared the government for knowingly allowing disaster to strike even after an albeit vague intelligence warning. When the government did pass on the information, leaving the choice entirely to Rushdie and the organisers, the same critics now blame it for “censorship” and exploiting vote-bank politics.This is heads I win, tails you lose, and not for the first time. So many people want to have their cake and eat it too.

To scorn the pursuit of “high growth” and yet want the government to enlarge and enhance subsidies, to demand employment but retard investment, to seek better governance but prevent reform, to shed tears for displacement because of development yet ignore the far larger displacement caused annually by distress migration for lack of development-created jobs, are all symptomatic of distorted priorities and confused minds. Similarly, while applauding China, Singapore and others for accomplishing things that we would wish to emulate, we shy away from the pragmatic decision-making that these achievements entail. . Those who criticise UPA-II for standing still, paralysed by scams, should also count the number of reforms blocked by paralysing Parliament over the past 18 months, largely on grounds of partisan politics without much thought for the national interest.

This attitude of “non-cooperation” must change in 2012. Coalition politics has played out in all the wrong ways. There is blackmail on one side and failure to consult one’s partners, let alone the Opposition, meaningfully and in time on the other. There is too much of talking at one another rather than with one another. And there is little doubt that the government has been adrift. Hopefully, all sides realise the high cost of a wasted year. None has gained. The nation has suffered.

Unfortunately, the current five-state polls that have commenced have gone the old way. Too many criminals have been given tickets and many parties are almost at a state of war with the Election Commission which has, as before, sought to plug new loopholes and maintain a level-playing field for all. Nevertheless, the degree of brazen defiance of basic norms is worrying. The return of assets filed by several candidates shows extraordinary growth since their last statement of wealth was filed. Many contestants have no PAN card and have never paid income tax. All this once again underlines the urgency and salience of electoral reforms.

The resounding defeat India has suffered at the hands of Australia in the four-Test series just concluded in Adelaide also carries a message. Indian cricket has moved away from the game to minting money, politics, strange alliances and individual glory. For the past year, Tendulkar’s century has loomed larger than an Indian victory. Fatigue and injuries tell their own story of “market” pressures to play without resting, reduce cricket to a milch cow for organisers to get richer and strut around with false pride. The media has played a notable role in massaging egos and joining others in hyping gamesmanship more than the game.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has once again come down on the Gujarat government for its dilatory and obfuscating tactics with regard to post-2002 fake encounters. The monitoring committee under a retired Supreme Court justice, M.B. Shah, appointed in April 2011, has been authorised to select investigators, from outside the state if necessary, in order to expedite matters, and to report back to the court in three months. The net is closing in on Narendra Modi and one can discern growing nervousness, dressed in bravado, on the part of Modi apologists in the Gujarat government, the BJP and the VHP. Justice Nanavati still plods his weary way to a conclusion on what is by now a highly flawed commission that pretended to offer certain final conclusions in its preliminary report a year or two ago, even as the truth is still unfolding.

Finally, on the other side of the border, it is worrying to note that yet another coup was plotted by elements in the Bangladesh army against Sheikh Hasina, though it was averted.

Her “crime”: Being allegedly pro-Indian. It was a nice gesture on her part to visit Agartala to thank the people of Tripura for hosting so many traumatised refugees in 1971. It is now for India to act swiftly and more boldly to fulfil its part of the Indo-Bangladesh agreement on completing the land boundary agreement and ensuing better border management, trade facilitation and water cooperation among other things. Bangladesh is delicately poised and both countries need to act to support and build a relationship of harmony and cooperation that is in their mutual interest.

In Pakistan, the jury is still out, but the civilian government has thus far stood up to the military and must be applauded and diplomatically supported in upholding a still tenuous parliamentary
democracy.

I think it’s time to re-visit Gurudev Tagore, who should be turning wherever he is at the denial of ‘holding a head high and having a mind without fear’ in relation to a couple living in Norway. The apples of their eye have been taken away by the Norwegian childcare authority, Barnevarne, for an alleged ‘parental disconnect.’

The Norwegians should learn from other species, if not the homo-sapiens of the Indian variety. Even animals and birds would let their progeny go away from them but only when it’s time for the latter to fly away from the nest — naturally. And mind you, the empty nest always pains them for the rest of their life, missing a link that was once a full house!

There is a problem with the Western model of bringing up children despite all that comforting coziness. Their way of showing love and compassion for their near and dear ones is not the be-all and end-all of bearing and rearing a child. Perhaps, they don’t have in their mind a situation when a child gets scared of nightmares and has none around to comfort him or her and lull back to sleep. We in India know that this is the best way one can ensure parental love.

Oprah Winfrey was enough amazed when she exclaimed how Abhishek Bachchan, a father himself, could stay in his father’s home! But, then, she comes from a country where if, at all, a son is charitable to his father he would gift him a tie on his birthday, but not without the bill!

My father, when he breathed his last, had expressed his desire that there should be no domestic help around to take care of him the previous evening. Obviously, he wanted to see me around as he probably knew that he was going, finally. He had the satisfaction of sorts that I was holding his hand.

My hardboiled Haryanvi grandmother and her gaggle, when they sat with the spinning wheel, had nice sessions of wisecracks. Of these, I remember one that why, after all, children would not look after their parents when for them their father ‘sells his skin’ and mother ‘sleeps on the soiled bed herself, giving dry space to her child’. Even as an adolescent, when I lay with my mother in her quilt, it would feel heavenly, although she kept telling me that I was a ‘big boy now!’

In 2011 we were in London watching the Wimbledon matches. Every time there was a good shot from one of the players the camera zoomed on to a man in his late fifties, who raised his hand with pride. I asked my nephew if the man being focused frequently was the player’s father. “Oh, come on uncle, who is bothered about one’s father? It’s his coach!” I was stunned.

At Bridport in South England I saw some dog-walkers, seagull-feeders, anglers and lonely old people ogling at all the rest like crows. I initiated a dialogue with one of the old men there who did not let me tear myself away from him for he found in me ‘someone who heard him for that long after a long time!’ When I asked him about his children, he looked deep in my eyes and tears began to roll down his cheeks.

If you don’t believe me, then go and ask the parents of our affluent NRIs who stay in those empty houses devoid of all connections whatsoever. A life lonely and bogus — a legacy of the
West!

The crimes of prejudice
The state machinery in Haryana may like to term honour crimes as a social issue, women groups are now demanding amendments in the existing laws to deal with such crime
Akhila Singh

THERE cannot be an alternative to mass mobilisation for legislation as important as “honour” crime, which has been put in cold storage even before a real debate could ensue. More than a year has passed since the Central Government constituted a Group of Ministers ( GoM) to look into the legal amendments, or, drafting of special legislation to deal with “honour” crimes, yet no understanding has been arrived at on such a serious issue.

It is not a hidden fact that there are political considerations at work behind the reluctance of the Central Government to even present a draft of this legislation in the Parliament. Meanwhile, the incidents of brutal violent attacks on innocent young couples, who assert their constitutionally protected right for the marriage of their choice are increasing, especially in Haryana, Punjab and Western Uttar Pradesh.

The comments from the government of Haryana sent to the Central Government on the proposed amendments in IPC (Indian Penal Code) and certain other laws to combat “honour” crime have come as a big disappointment to all those who have been campaigning relentlessly against the increasing number of these outrageous crimes. While conveying the understanding of his government on the matter, Chief Minister of Haryana has categorically denied the need for any special amendments in the law, leave alone the passage of a special legislation. In a letter sent to the Union Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, who heads the GoM, constituted to look into the need for amendment or stand alone law on “honour” crimes, the state government has stated that there was a need to examine “different manifestations of 'honour killing' in wider context without being overwhelmed by exaggerated media reports”. In this letter, sent to Mukherjee on 30 September, 2010, that was accessed through RTI, the state government has not only underplayed the increasing number of victims of “honour” crime in his own state, but has also tried to caution the government against “dealing with an extremely sensitive issue that involves age old institutions, usage and customs”.

“Honour” crimes and women

In the last few years Haryana has been making national headlines not just because its daughters are doing it proud in Commonwealth and Asian Games, but also because of frequent cases of “honour” crimes in the state. Jhajjar district of Haryana has registered the lowest child sex ratio of 774 girls to 1000 boys, down from 861 recorded in the 2001 Census.

Driving on the highways of Haryana, the first thing that strikes you is men sitting in groups and playing cards or just relaxing with a hukka and a local newspaper. On the other hand, not a single woman can be found who is not engaged in some sort of work, irrespective of her age.

Even with the increasing burden of work on women, their position hasn't changed much. Most women suffer from anaemia and malnutrition. These women work in the fields, take care of the household chores and are the ones who look after the cattle. Veil has become more prominent because women are now working outdoors. With blind consumerism and skyrocketing property prices, problems like dowry, son preference, buying of wives and violence against women have increased in the state.

On the other hand, due to the relative maturity of democracy, media exposure, education and employment, deprived sections, especially women are asserting their democratic rights even in the sphere of personal relationships. This assertion is being seen as a threat to the authority of those who have been controlling the levers of socio-economic resources. They are retaliating to the situation with violence in the name of honour, tradition and village brotherhood.

It is in this situation that the regressive forces have become hyperactive to reinforce the revivalist tendencies, dubbing the retrogressive customs and traditions as culture and thus legitimising the oppressive relationships of caste and gender, which stand against egalitarian values. Woman's right to choose her partner hits right at the roots of the casteist and patriarchal system.

Role of caste panchayats

The state has the best per capita income in the country along with ultra-modern physical infrastructure, at the same time, it is poor in its standards of socio-cultural development.

Capitalist development along with the recent processes of neo-liberalism has generated a wave of senseless consumerism. This so-called modern value system is distorted and cannot be an alternative to the feudal value system and vice-versa. In the name of saving the “honour” of their community and morality, the self-proclaimed khap panchayat bigwigs are cunningly trying to effect a polarisation in order to save their privileged positions. At a time when agrarian crisis is making lives miserable for small farmers and landless labourers, these caste panchayats are only helping the powerful to increasingly marginalise the poor. Instead of fighting the real problems in the state, some elements who call themselves leaders of the community are harassing and torturing innocent families in the name of “honour”. Fatwas are issued against young couples to dissolve their own marriages. The High Court sends a warrant officer and police force to reclaim a captive girl, and yet her husband is murdered on the spot in the presence of these very officials who were meant to protect him. Some of these panchayats have publicly objected to marriages and issued judgements against couples and their families in these Kangaroo Courts.

Legal interventions

Though judiciary has its own limitations, the impact of strict legal action has an immediate effect. Some of the historic judgements issued by different courts in cases of “honour” killings have sent shock waves amongst the offenders. In the Manoj Babli murder case which took place in June 2007, after almost three years the Karnal District Court took strong notice of the case and sentenced five people to death. The judgement was seen as historic and one could see desperation and panic amongst the casteist and reactionary elements. Due to the political patronage they have been receiving from consecutive governments, these self-styled panchayats never cared for the law and never thought it necessary to respect the rights of an individual. However, the death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment by Punjab and Haryana High Court and one of the prime accused was acquitted. The case is now being heard in the Supreme Court.

In 2009 the Punjab and Haryana High Court made some important comments when it was hearing several petitions filed by some newly wed couples demanding protection. The judge said a marriage is an occasion of utmost joy for a newly wed couple but now they are seeking refuge in the lawyers' chambers or courtrooms, lest their relatives or the police get hold of them and kill them, while the government and its administration are sitting idle as mute spectators. The court opined that there is a need for creating a sensitised system so that those marrying by law are able to get protection.

However, the victims and their families are finding it extremely difficult to get justice within the hostile political and social atmosphere. It will be almost five years for the famous Manoj Babli case, as Manoj's old mother Chanderpati has been running from pillar to post to get justice.

Need for special legislation

It has been felt that the already existing provisions are not adequate to deal with a range of “honour” crimes. Several women's organisations and human rights groups, especially All India Democratic Women's Organisation (AIDWA) have been demanding the passage of a special legislation addressing “honour” crimes.

There are several facets to these crimes; most importantly the absence of a comprehensive definition of the 'honour” crime. Other than that the role of khap panchayats, monitoring and investigation, the role of the law enforcement agencies acting in connivance with the perpetrators of the crime are important dimensions that need to be covered under the law. The role of the girl's family, because of which often there is no complainant in case of disappearance of a girl, when she has actually been murdered necessitates the mandatory role of state intervention. While murder comprises a part of the crime, many other crimes such as social and economic boycott, coercive dissolution of the marriage, levelling of fines on the family of the boy and their supporters, externment from the village, public humiliation, threats and harassment against relatives of the boy etc, which can not be dealt with by invoking Section 302 alone, need to be addressed.

The new legislation should describe the right to chose one's partner as a fundamental right so that the act of anyone opposing it would be construed as an offence. Prohibitory orders need to be issued as soon as the district administration gets information about meetings that have to do with the violation of fundamental rights as defined by the law. There should also be punishment for anyone glorifying or supporting the crime publicly.

AIDWA, which has been actively working for decades in the field on “honour” crimes, has already drafted a law which also puts the burden of proof on the accused in such cases and gives credence to the oral statements of the couple, especially if they have consented to marry or stay with each other. Also, the process of starting wider discussions around the demand for this special law has been initiated with a wide- scale signature campaign in
Haryana.

The writer is Research Co-ordinator, Indian School of Women's Studies and Development

Major
'honour' crimes that made headlines

Monica and Kuldeep

The couple were found murdered in Ashok
Vihar, Delhi. Kuldeep, 26-year-old and Monica, 24, though, belonged to different castes, their marriage was opposed by their families. The case took a serious turn when Monica's cousin,
Shobha, was also found murdered. Shobha had helped Monica elope to marry Kuldeep against her parents' wishes.

Manoj and Babli

The couple belonged to the Banwala gotra of Jat community, and were therefore considered to be siblings despite not being directly related. As a result, any union between them was termed invalid and incestuous. The couple went ahead with their marriage, following which they were abducted and killed by Babli's relatives.

Nirupama Pathak

A Delhi based journalist, Nirupama, 22, was allegedly murdered by her own mother. She wanted to marry a fellow journalist who belonged to a lower caste - and she was pregnant. On a trip home to make a final effort to convince her family, she was allegedly held captive. Later, she was found dead. The family claimed Nirupama had killed herself, and lodged a case against her boyfriend for rape and abetting suicide. But, the post-mortem results revealed Nirupama had been asphyxiated, the police arrested her mother, Sudha
Pathak.

Jassi Sidhu

Jaswinder (Jassi), then 25, a resident of Maple Ridge, British Columbia, was murdered on June 8, 2000, after she defied her family to marry a poor rickshaw driver. Her husband Sukwinder Singh Sidhu (Mithu) was seriously injured in the attack. Jassi's mother Malkit Kaur Sidhu and uncle Surjit Singh Badesha were arrested on January 6, 2011, and charged with plotting her murder 11 years ago in Punjab, India.